ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The County Attorney’s Office for St. Johns County has submitted a draft e-bike ordinance to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office after a middle-school-aged boy was critically injured following an e-bike crash in Julington Creek Monday night.
The boy had to be airlifted to a local trauma center as a result of the crash and remained in critical condition Tuesday morning.
While it wasn’t made immediately clear what the draft e-bike ordinance would change in St. Johns County, a look at the Atlantic Beach City Commission’s legislation could provide a reasonable template.
Some of the key rules and provisions approved by the city commission included e-bikes being restricted to a 10 mph speed limit and requiring all e-bikes to abide by “all state statues and regulations” like stop signs and bike laws.
Below is a more comprehensive list of rules approved by the city commission, according to the Atlantic Beach Police Department.
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs are restricted to 10mph on sidewalks and multi-use paths
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs can be used under human power only (no motor or powered assistance) within any city park, city trail, or unpaved portion of a public right of way
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs must abide by all state statutes and regulations (i.e. traffic control devices, stop signs/signals, bike laws, etc.)
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs must yield to pedestrians on sidewalks or crosswalks and give an audible signal before overtaking/passing
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs must operate with due care in a careful/prudent manner at all times (think of this as a careless driving law for these devices)
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs must obey posted speed limits when operating on a roadway
- Bikes, e-bikes, and PMDs cannot carry any package or article, which makes them unstable or dangerous to operate
- Low-speed vehicles (i.e., golf carts) must be properly registered and can only operate on roadways in the city
Once reviewed by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, the ordinance will head to the St. Johns County Commission for discussion, which will be followed by public comment before any official vote is held.
The St. Johns County community remained in shock on Tuesday upon learning of the crash that left the boy critically injured.
“That made my stomach turn. I knew this was an inevitability with the number of [e-bikes] on our sidewalks,” said one News4JAX reader.
Julington Creek resident Pam Livermore said she wasn’t surprised to hear an accident involving e-bikes occurred in the area.
“I’m always very careful when turning in here because a little kid was coming down the road and I knew he wasn’t going to stop to look,” she said.
Another woman named Jamie said, “It doesn’t surprise me at all, especially with the way people drive around here.”